1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to closures and more particularly to an improved ostomy pouch closure.
2. Background of the Invention
Due to various intestinal or rectal diseases such as cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, many people require a surgical procedure whereby the diseased portion of the intestine is removed and the healthy portion of the intestine is attached to the abdominal wall. Surgical diversion procedures involving the small intestine are referred to as illeostomies and those involving the large intestine or rectum are referred to as colostomies. The end of the intestine or rectum is sutured to the skin forming a stoma. Waste products which are discharged from the stoma are collected using an ostomy applicance. An ostomy appliance conventionally includes a wafer and an ostomy pouch.
Ostomy pouches are secured to the skin of the wearer by a sealing material, or wafer, which extends around the stoma. The appliance may be designed as a one-piece device with a wafer attaching directly to the wearer and then connecting to a pouch with a drain at the lower end. This device is reusable until the wearer needs to replace the entire appliance.
Alternately, the pouch may be manufactured in two pieces. The first piece is a separate wafer with a central opening sized to fit around the stoma. This wafer has a flange in varying sizes to accommodate a wide range of stoma sizes and has adhesive properties that allow it to be affixed to the wearer over the stoma. The second piece, or ostomy pouch, has a corresponding flange that snaps into the wafer flange. The ostomy pouch has a flexible wall with an opening to receive waste products from the stoma.
The two piece ostomy pouch may be either closed-end, such that the pouch must be replaced after each use, or be drainable, such that the pouch can be reused until the wearer needs to replace it, usually after a day or two. The drainable pouches have a tapered open end to allow the user to discharge the stool into a conventional toilet and then seal the pouch using a specially designed clip or other closure.
The drainable pouches have the disadvantage of being cumbersome to empty the stool contents, carry a on-going risk of clip or closure failure resulting in embarrassing leads, and very messy to empty the contents in a hygienic manner. However, the advantage of the drainable pouch is that the waste contents are deposited directly in the toilet and disposed of normally from that point.
The advantages of the closed-end pouches is that they are designed for one-time usage, which makes them ideal for everyday use, special occasions or for intimate moments. This eliminates the need to manipulate a tail clip or closure to empty the pouch and there is no need for messy draining of stool or an uncomfortable clip to worry about. These pouches can be emptied much faster and a toilet area is preferable but not required. The user simply removes the pouch and discards it in a trash receptacle. The disadvantage of this system is that the used pouches cannot be flushed down a toilet and must be discarded in the trash. As a result, the user is faced with the embarrassing challenge of disposing of a highly odorous pouch numerous times per day. This is a difficult challenge in the privacy of one's home and especially so in the workplace, restaurants, and other social settings. Several devices of the prior art have met with varying degrees of success in solving these problems. None, however completely satisfies the requirements for a complete solution to the aforestated problems. The following U.S. patents are attempts of the prior art to solve these problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,401 to Lynn, et al discloses a safety closure for containers wherein the neck of the container has a continuous encircling rib and the closure has an internal bead formation which snaps over the rib. The rib on the container has a portion of reduced radius to facilitate snapping the closure off of the container. The container has a flange which lies below the closure and has a notched portion which defines the release position of the closure. The closure has a tab which is not accessible due to the presence of the flange on the container excepting when the tab is in alignment with the notch. There are protuberances on either the continuous rib of the container or the interior of the closure which take up the slack in a radial direction normally present due to manufacturing tolerance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,227 to Jensen discloses a wound drainage device in the form of a flexible pouch having top and bottom walls and having pleated side walls that allow the top wall to be lifted a limited distance without transmitting appreciable lifting or tensioning forces to the bottom wall when the bottom wall is surgically apertured and secured about a wound site. The top wall includes an access opening having a flanged locking ring of flexible plastic extending thereabout. A removable closure cap is attached to the access opening, the cap having a flat rim of flexible plastic with circumferential locking ribs releasably and sealingly engaging a series of mating ribs provided by the flanged portion of the ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,869 to Johns discloses a low profile ostomy device includes an ostomy POUCH with an opening, a first coupling member attached to the ostomy pouch at the opening, and a second coupling member for attachment to a user's body. The first and second coupling members are engaged by the joining of an engaging element on each of the members, the engagement providing a tight mechanical seal between the members within the ostomy pouch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,621 to Canela discloses a drainable pouch for colostomy patients with a stoma and that includes a valve for selectively releasing the gases trapped within the pouch. The valve assembly is removably mounted permitting a user to rinse the interior of the pouch from the uppermost portion. The valve also contains an odor suppresant filter that may include an impregnated fragrance. A cap member is used to cover the outlet spout. A sheet having cooperative dimensions and made out of a non-transparent material is used to conceal said pouch from public view.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,508 to Lavender discloses an ostomy pouch having a first and second panels of flexible material sealed to each around the edges to form a pouch, and a aperture for receiving waste product from a stoma. A seal is provided on the inner surfaces of the two panels to seal waste products in the pouch before the pouch is removed from the side of a wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,654 to Fanti discloses a disposable cover for enclosing the outlet spout of a drainable stoma pouch. The cover includes front and rear walls sealed along side and bottom edges, with an unsealed upper edge. Preferably, one or more stiffening ribs extend longitudinally across the front and rear walls near the unsealed upper edge. The presence, spacing and relative orientation of such ribs on the external surfaces of the front and rear walls render the disposable cover self-opening such that it may be easily placed over to enclose the outlet spout of a drainable stoma pouch. Once positioned, the cover is clamped onto the tail section of the pouch to provide effective odor and moisture containment therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,468,056 to Burt discloses a colostomy pouch with a vent and a method for venting gas collected in the colostomy pouch. A dual vent and cap assembly attached to a colostomy pouch vents gas trapped in the pouch either continuously or as periodically desired by a user. A method for venting gas collected in the colostomy pouch provides that replacement and/or cleaning of the colostomy pouch is reduced. Also, a method of using a disposable sleeve in combination with a clip may be used to hygienically clean the colostomy pouch.
United States Patent Application 2004/0111072 to McKissick discloses a display arrangement for organizing and presenting supplies and implements needed for ostomy care has at least one display surface for the supplies and implements, the display surface having alphamerically sequenced indicia disposed thereon. The indicia include at least one indicator for at least one skin preparation product, at least one indicator for stoma measurement, at least one indicator for at least one wafer cutting implement, at least one indicator for a wafer, at least one indicator for at least one adhesive product; and at least one indicator for at a pouch.
Although the aforementioned prior art have contributed to the development of the art of securing an object to a support member, none of these prior art patents have solved the needs of this art.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for the sealing and disposal of an ostomy pouch.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for sealing the ostomy pouch following its removal from the stoma of a patient in an odor free manner.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for maintaining a stool and order released from the stool within the ostomy pouch to facilitate the odor proof disposal of the used ostomy pouch.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for the hygienic disposal of an ostomy pouch and its contents following the removal from the stoma of a colostomy patient.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus that is simple for the colostomy patient to use.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus that is easy to cost effectively produce.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by modifying the invention within the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.